New Tales from the Storm (August 18)

[Theodric]

Is there any indication of when the last part of the story takes place? "Final confrontation" is kind of vague, since we've had a lot of "final confrontations" involving Cid and the Ironworks in ARR and beyond (when Cid is bearded).

It could be referring to the upcoming confrontation with Omega. The picture at the end of the story is of the pit in which Omega resides, I believe. We also know that 4.4 is very likely to conclude the Omega story arc. As far as his beard is concerned, it could be that he has chosen to shave and will have a new model as a result once we see him again.

[Astrid_Stormborn]

Given that the end picture is of Cid staring at The Yawn, I'm assuming it's sometime during the next Omega questline.

Edit: Ah, ninja'd!

[Mieck]

Interesting to learn (I've had a quick look through the EE, but didn't see an explicit mention) that Bozja was either a state or a city annexed by Garlemald. I know it could have been inferred by the fact that Bozja was in Othard, but it could have just been a Garlean construction. Sounds like it was much older than that, and its previous occupants weren't massive fans of the way they had been treated.
I suppose it is safe to also infer that these Bozjan rebels knew enough about what the empire was up to there (Meteor). Possibly this suggests/confirms suspicions that Bozja was built upon significant Allagan ruins?


I'm sure Tataru will rustle up a new set of threads for Cid. I expect him to feature prominently in the 5.0 story, and he'll need a new look.


Edit: I also noticed Cid uses an Eorzean exclamation - "seven hells" - I'm sure he uses it and similar expressions in the 2.x MSQ, though can't point to specifics. I just have a feeling he does.

Anyway, EE confirms Garlemald has banned religions, mistrustful of them and that they often lead to primal summoning. I wonder if that sort of language is a bit more universal than previously thought? Harder to root out. Or are they just using it to demonstrate Cid is a non-conformist even then?

[Anonymoose]

This one caught me off-guard, to be honest! I've been imagining Nero as the Tim Taylor of the Garlean Empire; not untrustworthy because he's malicious, but because whether something is possible is going to be the deciding factor - not whether it's needed, wanted, or even advisable. It's all about more power, and there's a good chance it's going to go sideways, but when it hits the fan he doesn't flake out, either.

Even in Crystal Tower he tried to save the clones under the pretext of "If I die here it's because I bloody well decided to." With that headcanon taken for granted, it's easy to imagine their rivalry was always more or less as we see it on display in Omega, not that a villainous Tribunus became a comic relief amoral goof.

I did not expect for that headcanon to ever be validated, lol.

Next we're going to find out Gaius van Baelsar really did survive because Nero couldn't resist going back to watch Ultima Weapon in action, helped him escape as the place came down, and just never bothered to tell anyone. ("You never asked, Garlond!")

Fun Fact: When you meet Nero in Mor Dhona in 2.1, he picks you out as the adventurer famed for storming the Praetorium, but never suggests this adventurer killed Gaius, just bested him.

[Saviin]

This one caught me off-guard, to be honest! I've been imagining Nero as the Tim Taylor of the Garlean Empire;

Nero's always been a fav of mine since 2.0, and I am just so excited to see him finally get some lore-based screen time! And darn it, Moose, I used to watch Home Improvement, and now that's how I'm going to see Nero: the "Tim" to Cid's "Al"; disasters, jokes and all. Kinda surprised, with how tall most Garleans are, Nero hasn't made any height jokes. But if Nero's "Tim", and Cid's "Al", who's "Wilson"?

[Zephanoa]

Well now we know where the Magitek Bits come from if nothing else. It's nice to get an understanding of the rivalry between Cid and Nero before things became what they were. Also it sheds light to how Nero may have felt when the WoL prevailed in the Castrum. Looks like Nero is the opposite to our dear Cid.

[ObsidianFire]

Bozja Citadel being in the Garlean frontier seems similar to how Nero is from rural Garlemald. For all it's modernization, Garlemald still has places far from the cities that havn't been fully modernized yet. The other reason I think Bozja Citadel is in Garlemald is that the lore book mentions that it an imperial stronghold and a major commercial center. So it looks like it's far from the major Garlean cities, but still someplace the civilians from the surrounding area go to on a regular basis. There's also the issue that the rebels from Bozja had to be able to get into what is probably Garlemald's capital with weapons without raising suspicion. I find that a lot easier to believe if it's Garlean natives instead of foreigners. Admittedly, I do like the idea that Garlemald has always had Garlean citizens who weren't happy with how the Garlean Empire was handling things, they just wouldn't have gotten enough steam to form a political party 40 years into the Empire.

Cid and Nero are pretty much the opposites of each other in every way except for that they're both engineering geniuses.

Upbringing: urban vs rural
Economic situation: upper class vs lower class
Effort put into to get noticed: a little vs a lot
Engineering expertise: original projects vs reverse engineering
Personalities: genial vs confrontational
Organization styles: in the moment vs long-term

I can easily see how them not getting along is a lot less about them really hating each other and much more about neither of them really getting where the other is coming from.

[ChaoticCrimson]

You know, at first I wasn't terribly fond of Nero. But the more I've seen/read about him, the more I've warmed up to him. It's nice to get more background on him and Cid, especially as kids.

[Sounsyy]

Hopping in to point out a few things I noticed from the latest Tales from the Storm.

First of all, concerning Bozja. It was a commercial hub in Othard under the control of the Garleans according to the lore book. Since most of Othard has been unveiled now and the Burn has been more or less confirmed to not be the remains of Bozja, I'm guessing we might find the remains of the city in the landbridge / Anchorite region of Othard, west of the Dalmasca westersands.

Encyclopedia Eorzea - Chronicles of the Sixth Astral Era:
1562 - “On the continent of Othard, Grand Minister Midas nan Garlond conducts the first field test of the Meteor Project at the Citadel Bozja. A massive quantity of energy is released from Dalamud, obliterating the tower and the surrounding city, causing heavy casualties.”

Also according to the lore book, this occurred in the 41st Year of the First Emperor if we're going by the Garlean calendar. 1st Year = 1522, and 56th Year = the present year/5th Year of 7th Umbral/1st Year of 7th Astral/"1577" for those who prefer ease of math.

This brings me to the inconsistency I found in today's Tale: the story opens saying that this story takes place during the 38th Year of the First Emperor, aka 1559. It also says that Cid and Nero are both age 12.

However, this would mean that Cid defected from Garlemald and founded the Garlond Ironworks at age 15. This isn't exactly outside the realm of the believable, but it conflicts with the lore book telling us that both Cid and Nero are 34 in the present day, the 56th Year of the Emperor. 56 - 34 = Cid/Nero born during the 22nd Year of the Emperor. + 12 = 34th Year of the Emperor / 1555. The story is a full 4 years off the mark, assuming the lore book is not in error in two separate sections. Cid and Nero joined the Magitek Academy at the age of 12, but they joined in the Year 1555. The Magitek Academy is also a 6 year program and it is stated that Cid and Nero are both alumni of the Academy. If Cid was really only 12 years old in 1559, he would not have been able to graduate the Academy by his defection 3 years after this story supposedly takes place, following the destruction of Bozja. This date also conflicts with Cid's own admission that it was his magitek inventions at the Academy which were used against Ala Mhigo during the short storm of the city-state in 1557.

tl;dr -

The winter of the Garlean Empire's thirty-eighth year was a bitterly cold one, and the capital lay muffled under a thick blanket of snow.

...should say...

The winter of the Garlean Empire's thirty-fourth year was a bitterly cold one, and the capital lay muffled under a thick blanket of snow.

[Anonymoose]

Hopping in to point out a few things I noticed from the latest Tales from the Storm.

When I read the story this morning, I made a quick first-impressions post and left the tab open like, "I should check the dates and ages later. It's always the dates and ages... but first a nap." and this is the first post I see upon waking up. If I could [Like!] the post once for quality content and once for comedic timing, I would, but, alas, one will have to do.